


Realization Grew On Me

by wildflowereyes



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Rewind Time Powers (Life is Strange), Background Relationships, Explicit Language, M/M, Minor Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Not Beta Read, Original Character(s), Rachel Amber Lives, They Say Fuck, Vortex Club (Life is Strange)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:41:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23247916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildflowereyes/pseuds/wildflowereyes
Summary: Mr. Jefferson desires another model. He looks to Nathan for a new subject.(Title is lyric for Hunger of the Pine by alt-j)
Relationships: Warren Graham/Nathan Prescott
Comments: 10
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

Nathan completely, yet incompletely, understood his stance on Warren Graham. 

Warren was just some fucking geek who was in his chemistry and he shared a dorm hall with. He was just some guy who he thought was slightly attractive. Nothing special. Nothing more. That's it. But, he also knew it wasn't that simple.

Nathan knew he was not straight, i mean, he just fucking knew. He wasn't gay, but he wouldn't say he's never found a dude attractive. When he was eleven, he had a crush on some neighborhood kid. It was innocent enough, but his dad didn't react that well when he found out. He screamed, threw things, and insulted Nathan. Nathan was shamed by his dad, and his mom didn't do anything. His dad somehow made the family move out of Arcadia Bay. And Nathan never heard from or saw that kid ever again. He doesn't even remember how his dad found out, but that wasn't important.

But Warren Graham. Warren Gayram. Warren. He was a different case. No Sean Prescott to scare him away. No Sean to scare his son. Nathan was also a grown ass teenager who could make his own decisions, most of them bad, but still. If Nathan could keep this 'affection' under the radar and just wait til it goes away, everything will be fine. Nathan didn't even know if Warren swung that way, so he thought his best bet would be to keep this thing a secret for how ever long it needed to be. Warren probably had a huge crush on that hipster chick, Max, anyway.

Currently, he's sitting in that chemistry class, not paying attention. He's keeping his eyes glued to a bird outside, trying so hard not to let his eyes wonder to a certain occupant of the classroom. It wasn't even his fault, it's Warren's fault. Warren was just the opposite of Nathan, and opposites attract. That's what they say anyway. Nathan just felt like an idiot, out of all the dudes at Blackwell, Warren was the one he had a thing for. There was just something about the way he smiled that made Nathan feel safe. The class they shared was boring and easy, so Nathan didn't even waste his time on it. Google is free, and he used it. Chemistry was over before he knew it, his thoughts filling the time. He saunters out of the room and Victoria spots him.

"Nate, what's on your mind?" She asks walking up beside him.

"What? Why'd you ask?" He scrunches up his face in confusion.

"You're making the face you always make whenever your thinking about something that generally important." She sung out, smiling at him.

"Generally?" He questioned.

"Not life or death, but not 'what am i gonna eat for lunch' kind of important. Something in between the two." She nods her head and signaled Nathan to walk with her.

They ate lunch together everyday. Sometimes Victoria's bitchy friends join. Sometimes Nathan's douche-y fake friends join. But most of the time it was just the two of them. Victoria always ate something petite and healthy, and if Nathan ate, he'd eat something sweet or greasy or both. They'd talk about their days, who'd pissed them off, what they wanted to do that weekend. Out of everyone in Nathan's life, she was the closest person to him. Everyone else he either hates or tolerates or ignores. Only a few people care about him, so he only cares about less than a few. Although Victoria is close to him, she still doesn't fully know about his life. There is certain things he'd rather keep to himself. He didn't want to worry her or scare her away. He just wanted to deal with somethings on his own. That's just how he was. But he was still comfortable calling Victoria his best friend.

"I'm thinking of planning a vortex party. What do you think?" Victoria carried on their conversation.

"Fine with me." Nathan shrugged, mind somewhere else. Victoria noticed this.

"So what were you thinking about after chemistry?" Victoria asks again taking a bite of her pasta salad. 

"Not important." Nathan quickly mutters poking his day old carton of Chinese take out.

She looked up at Nathan through her lashes and paused for a moment, but then went back to eating. She knew that it was important and Nathan wasn't telling her something. But she knew not to push and let him tell her in time. She knew if he needed help with it, he'd let her know. She shrugged the question off her mind and asked something else.

"Anything new with Mr.Jefferson?" She asked innocently. 

Victoria knew Nathan and Mr.Jefferson had a close student teacher bond. She knew Nathan looked up to Mr.Jefferson and that he was a father figure to Nathan. He didn't need to tell her, she could just tell. But she didn't know about the Dark Room or Mr. Jefferson's side project. Nathans shoulders tensed.

"He's fine. Same old lectures and shit." Nathan pressed out, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"Typical." Victoria looked at him and slightly nodded her head. 

Nathan felt a sense of disgust wash over him. It happened when he thought of Mr.Jefferson and who he is. The fact that Nathan practically worshiped him and was so eager for his support, made Nathan annoyed with himself. Nathan quickly shook that off, because his next class was Mr.Jefferson's photography class.

Nathan picks a seat in the back, next to a window. He was the second person in the class, so he didn't have to worry about a one on one with Mr. Jefferson. He sunk into his seat as more and more of his classmates filled the classroom, then finally Mr. Jefferson arrived. Everyone was talking about nonsense until Mr. Jefferson stood in front of everyone and signaled for silence.

"Now class, today we will be focusing on the ..." And Nathan didn't care and he looked out the window.

His mind went back to Warren, as it usually did. He couldn't stop thinking about that fucking dork. Why was this scruffy nerd on his mind. He wanted to know why him, why he was attracted to Warren Graham. Maybe is was the one time they were lab partners and Warrens didn't treat him like a ticking time bomb. Warren was cautious, but he wasn't afraid, or didn't show that he was. Nathan smiled at that thought. Maybe it was the fact that Warren accidentally took one of Nathan's sweaters from the dorm washing machines. Nathan hunted down that sweater, and he was furious. He was until he found out it was Warren. Warren posted on the community board about how he accidentally took a sweater and for the owner to come get it. So, Nathan knocked on Warrens door and waited patiently. The look on Warrens face was priceless, shocked and flustered. 

"You have my sweater." Nathan stated and Warrens shoulders relaxed.

"oh-uh, yeah." Warren retreated back into his dorm to get the sweater, "here you go dude."

Nathan smiled at Warren, which was as much as a surprise for Nathan as it was for Warren. Warren returned the smile slightly.

"Thank you" Nathan said softly and then walked back to his dorm. Both boys were confused about that interaction and why they were both so flustered by it.

Nathans attention was snapped back as the bell rang. He got up to leave after he collected his belongings. Mr.Jefferson stopped him at the door, asked him to stay behind to talk. So Nathan did, and he hated it. He shifted from foot to foot anxiously.

"Nathan, meet me in the Dark Room after school today, I have work to do and i want you to be there." Mr.Jefferson said not even looking up from his papers.

"what kind of work." Nathan asked, his throat clenching and his eyes darting to the corner of the room.

"editing." Mr.Jefferson looked up, "Be there."

Nathan nodded and left the classroom, in an instant bad mood. Nathan was now one hundred percent in a shitty mood. He glared at everyone as a signal to leave him alone. He fumed as he walked to his last class of the day. He sat in the back and glared out the window. His eyebrow furrowed, arms closed. No one dared to sit in a one seat radius of him. Painfully aware that everyone was afraid to sit even close to him pissed Nathan off further. He was his own island, metaphorically and literally. Then someone had the nerve to sit next to him.

He whipped his head as he heard a clamour of books next to him. He stared directly at the one and only Warren Graham. He quickly looked away from him, not wanting to cause any suspicion. He was confused, because Warren isn't in this class. Nathan thought for a second, then pushed Warren's seat with his foot. 

Warren looked over in his direction, with a confused look on his face.

"what are you doing here?" Nathan hissed.

"I transferred to this time slot because they got rid of the 8 am one. Not enough people wanting to do advanced calculus at 8 in the morning." Warren whispered back.

Now, people were surprised when Nathan was in their advanced calculus class at 3 in the afternoon. But he could never imagine doing that shit at 8 in the morning. Many people didn't think Nathan was smart enough or paid enough attention to be in that class, but he didn't care. He was there, so they'd have to deal with it. Warren awkwardly shifted in his seat, and Nathan's mind shifted back to the current situation.

"alright." Nathan muttered, wanting to say more but not exactly knowing how.

"It's okay that i sit here right?" Warren whispered to Nathan after a brief moment of silence.

"yeah, you're good," Nathan muttered, looking briefly at Warren, scanning him up and down. Then, Nathan mentally slapped himself for doing that. He looked back up at the board.

Despite what many think, Nathan liked math. He knew that was weird to some people. Now, he knows he's not any kind of genius. He also knew he wasn't an idiot. Many people are surprised to learn that Nathan Prescott, likes math. So in this class, where he usually pays attention if he wasn't pissed or distracted, but lucky for him, he was both at this moment. His mind was scattered and he couldn't pay attention if his life depended on it.

Mr.Jefferson and his bullshit was making his blood boil, but Warren was a cold wave over his mind. And that steam from his boiling blood and the calming cool wave of Warren's presence, made Nathan blind to any work he had to do. He wanted this class to end, but dreaded what he had to do after school ended. He sat there for the remaining 45 minutes in purgatory, wishing for death. 

When the final bell did ring, he cringed. He sat there for a moment, soaking in whatever feelings he was experiencing. 

"bye Nathan," Warren said as he slid out of his chair and walked out.

Nathan hummed a response, too occupied with the panic attack he was postponing for tonight. He truly doesn't know why he still lets Mr.Jefferson control him. He doesn't know how to stop him. He wants to. He does.

Nathan shakes his thoughts and stands up. He looks over to Warren's new seat. He squints at a keychain under the chair. He curses, knowing it fell off of Warren's bag. He swats to look at it. He turns it over and it reads 'Blue Mountain Resort, Ontario, Canada'. Nathan rushes out of the classroom and looks down the hallway. No Warren in sight. He curses again, and shoves the key chain in his pocket. 

He walks to his car and throws his bag in the back seat. He takes a deep breath, and starts the car. Takes another breath and starts driving. He's on his way to Mr.Jefferson and the Dark Room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven't played before the storm yet, I have no clue what Rachel Amber is like, smh

Nathan knows what he and Mr.Jefferson do in the Dark Room is wrong. He knew he would have to live with that guilt forever. But he also knew he couldn't stop Mr.Jefferson if he tried. Mr.Jefferson has a hold on him, and at one point Nathan idolized Mr.Jefferson. He felt that Mr.Jefferson understood him and actually cared about him.

But he was wrong.

No one cared about him. No one. Especially Mr.Jefferson. But Nathan was stupid enough to believe he did. These thoughts ran through Nathans head as he sat on the couch in the Dark Room, hearing Mr.Jefferson working on the computer, editing his stupid photos. 

"You see Nathan, perfection is rare and it takes time..." Mr. Jefferson was lecturing and Nathan didn't care enough to pay attention. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Mr.Jefferson's hand grabbed Nathan's shoulder.

"What?!" Nathan asked harshly.

"Nathan, I know you're tired of hearing me lecture in and out of class, but how do you expect to be worth anything if you don't learn. You're work, I mean." Mr.Jefferson knew exactly what to say to get under Nathan's skin. Nathans face burned red with anger and embarrassment and the he quickly nodded his head. 

Mr.Jefferson smiled and went back to lecturing about the perfect model. Nathan didn't pay attention. He let his mind flow to other topics to distract him from his current situation. He thought of Warren, and he remembered the key chain. He took it out of his pocket and held it. He mindlessly turned it over and over in his hands. 

"The perfect model. The perfect one, has innocence but that innocence is on the brink of breaking. To capture the moment were innocence leaves their eyes, is perfection. But the stereotypical good girl or the religious model, is so... bland and predictable. It's about finding the unexpected innocence. Finding the innocence that no one would think of. Nathan, does anyone at Blackwell have this trait? Nathan?" Mr.Jefferson lectures.

Once Mr.Jefferson knows that Nathan isn't paying any attention, he silently gets up from the desk and strolls behind Nathan. He sees the key chain in Nathan's hand and he raises his eyebrow. He reaches over Nathan and takes it from out of his hands.

"I wasn't aware you went to Ontario, Nathan?" Mr.Jefferson hummed as he turned the keychain around in his hand.

"uh, that's not mine. It fell off of someone's bag." Nathan fumbled and turned around.

"Who?" Mr.Jefferson pressed.

"Just someone in my calculus. I'm going to give it back." Nathan stated reaching for the keychain.

Mr.Jefferson pulled his hand back, " I didn't expect you to be so kind to return a lost keychain. This someone must be, special."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nathan hissed and stood.

Mr.Jefferson smirked. "Nothing Nathan." And he handed the keychain back. Nathan could see Mr.Jefferson scan him with his eyes. It made him twitch.

Nathan hastily took it back and sat down. The keychain seemed to burn in his hand. He opened his palm to look at it again, and then he put it into his jacket pocket.

"Nathan come here." Mr.Jefferson demanded softly.

Nathan got up and stalked over to the desk Mr.Jefferson was sitting at. He stopped in front of the desk, waiting for Mr.Jefferson to tell him what he wanted.

"Come look at this." Mr.Jefferson said as he pointed at the screen.

Nathan walked around to stand behind Mr.Jefferson and look at the screen. On the screen was a picture of a girl in black and white. Her hands were tied and her pupils were dilated. Nathan looked closer and recognized her. This girl is Valerie Cho, she's in Nathan's chemistry. She's president of the Young Authors club. Her favorite color is blue. Nathan looked down, feeling his stomach clench.

"Now if you look at this photo compared to this one, you can see how the lighting highlights her cheeks in this one." Mr.Jefferson stated and clicked onto more photos. 

"You see how you can see it. In her eyes." Mr.Jefferson spoke with a sick tone of awe, his finger pointing at the photo on the screen.

Nathan looked up, and he felt sick. Valerie was looking directly in the camera. Her eyebrows furrowed. She seemed to stare straight into Nathan's soul. He wasn't there when Mr.Jefferson was taking the photos, but he was called to take her back to Blackwell. That car ride was miserable, he forced himself to listen to every noise she made, just to punish himself for helping this fucking creep. He would apologize, even though he knew that she wouldn't remember. Everyone thought Nathan was returning them back home after a hang out or a party. They thought he was being a good friend. That made him feel even worse. He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs that Mr.Jefferson was a monster and he was drugging his friends. Wanted to see justice and watch the creep go to jail and get what he deserved. But he never did.

Another photo. She was now propped up against the back wall. Her legs were also tied, and Nathan quickly turned his head. Which got Me.Jeffersons attention.

"Something wrong Nathan?" Mr.Jefferson asked softly.

"No, nothing. It's nothing." Nathan stuttered.

"Do you think that my art is distasteful?" Mr.Jefferson barked, turning to look at Nathan.

"No, it's just." Nathan stopped himself.

"Just what?" Mr.Jefferson sang.

"It's just, it's hard for me to see her like this. She was kind of a friend." Nathan sighed and avoided Mr.Jeffersons eyes. 

Mr.Jefferson laughs. Nathan looks up in surprise.

"Nathan, you don't have friends, just potential models." Mr.Jefferson chuckled.

Nathan's face burned with embarrassment. He moved to go sit back down on the couch. Mr.Jefferson grabbed his arm to stop him.

"No, you stay and look." Mr.Jefferson growled.

Mr.Jeffersons statement had some truth to it. Nathan really didn't have any friends. Victoria was really his only friend. He had others, but that was before Mr.Jefferson. Nathan never really had male friends, he found them too judgmental. So when Mr.Jefferson photographed Nathan's friend Ashley, Nathan felt sick. But, of course, Mr.Jefferson convinced him that everything was perfectly alright. Soon enough, friend after friend, some left. When girls wake up not remembering a whole night when they start hanging out with Nathan, they stopped hanging out with Nathan. Well, most girls. Rachel Amber was a different case. She remembered what happened, Mr.Jefferson spiking her drink and kidnapping her. She remembered seeing Nathan's face go pale and the tears well in his eyes. When she woke up back in her apartment, she went straight to Nathan's dorm.

"Nathan open the door." She demanded, knowing he was in there.

And he did, with red eyes and an apology on his lips. They talked about it. They talked about it for a while. Nathan apologized a lot. He explained the situation, that all his friends are Mr.Jeffersons targets. 

"You need to tell the police." Rachel pressed.

"I can't, he'll tell them that it was all me. And he's made a point to let me know that they would believe a well known photographer over a mentally unstable teenager." Nathan sighed.

"So what. Nathan, he's going to keep doing this. You need to take him down." Rachel pushes.

"Rachel I just can't." Nathan cried.

"So you're just going to let him get away with this? Why?" Rachel raised her voice slightly.

"because I'm scared of him." Nathan let out. 

And that's where that conversation ended. That was months ago. Rachel finally decided that she was going to move to LA. And she did. One night she packed up everything she owned in a van she brought a week before, and just left. She left without a notice, she left everyone and everything behind. She sent a postcard and few weeks after she moved, letting Nathan know that she's safe and happy and that she wants Nathan to be strong and unafraid. That postcard now is pinned to Nathan's wall.

He did think about what she said, that Mr.Jefferson wouldn't stop. He often worried about who else he would target. He worried about Victoria. He asked Mr.Jefferson at one point why he hadn't photographed Victoria. Mr.Jefferson said that she was corrupted, and had little innocence. Nathan didn't know whether to be offended for Victoria or relieved. 

Nathan would be surprised if Mr.Jefferson hasn't drugged and taken him to the Dark Room. He's almost positive he has. He hasn't seen any photos of him, but he knows there's a binder with his name on it and he has awakened in his dorm with a foggy memory and a bruise on his inner arm. It doesn't take a genius to know what happened. He tries not think about it. He tries not to think about how it's happened more than once. The first time, he thinks, he was new to the school and he wasn't an unbearable asshole. He was at his first party, then he took a drink of his lukewarm beer, than boom. He woke up not remembering the rest of the night. Another time, was with Rachel. But he remembered that one, ever so slightly. Mr.Jefferson gave him just enough so he wouldn't fight back, but he was somewhat mentally there. He remembers sobering up on the Dark Room couch and seeing Rachel on the floor and Mr.Jefferson standing over him. The smile on his face still haunts Nathan.

Since Rachel, Nathan has stayed away from making any new friends, turning to being an asshole and unlikable in order to just keep everyone safe. Being alone and misunderstood helped Nathan become bitter and truly unlikable. People looked at him and saw an angry rich kid. He was that, but he was also much more than just that. But he keep that shield up. 

He still remembers a blue haired bitch hunting him down, after Rachel disappeared. She yelled and pounded on his dorm door, demanding for him to tell her any information about Rachel. She accused him of doing something to her. No matter what Nathan told her, she still thought he did something because she believed Rachel loved her and wouldn't leave without her. When the postcards came, she stopped showing up at his dorm.

As much ad he hates Mr.Jefferson, he has learned from him. He can spot innocence, and he hates it. He hates being able to look at someone and see that they are still pure and believes in good and haven't been ruined by the world yet. He hates that Mr.Jefferson taught him to see that. Nathan still couldn't understand why Rachel was innocent while Victoria wasn't. He tried to figure it out, but he could never see why. Rachel was wild and was the life of the party, and she didn't follow any rules. Victoria was just a bitch. 

He turned his attention back to Mr.Jefferson and his computer, and there was a photo of another one of Nathan's old friends. He looked down at Mr.Jeffersons face, and he saw him smiling. Nathan turned away, grabbed his bag. Mr.Jefferson stopped his lecture about finding another model mid-sentence.

"Where are you going Nathan." Mr.Jefferson barked.

"I just remembered that Tori wanted help planning for a vortex party." Nathan lied, anxious to leave.

"Nathan." Mr.Jeffersons voice crawled under Nathan's skin.

"We talked about it during lunch." Nathan said, exhausted and just wanting to leave.

"You're staying right were you are." Mr.Jefferson barked. 

"Fucking make me!" Nathan shouted as he stormed out of the Dark Room.

Nathan had to just get away from that creep and the Dark Room and everything. The walk back to his car left his mind spinning, thinking about everything at a hundred miles per hour. He dropped his keys on the grassy ground, hands trembling. He took a deep breath, bent down and grabbed them. He slid into his car, and let the stray tears run down his face. 

"shit, are you serious Nathan." He spoke silently to himself.

"Pull Yourself Together." He added empathise on the first letters.

He started the car and left. The car ride felt like it lasted for hours, and it was dead quiet. He drove through the town, looked at the pedestrians, the old buildings. He thought of going home to his parents house, but quickly realized he would just be over medicated and then sent back to his dorm. He decided to drive to Blackwell, instead of being drugged up. No one bothered him while he walked to the dorms. He was giving people glares and not giving a shit who he was scaring. He just wanted to be in his bed.

Once he was in his dorm, he turned on the CD player. As whale songs filled the room, he tried to call down. He texted Victoria to plan that party, to which she texted back about details. He mindlessly agreed to the plans, trying to get his mind of of Mr.Jefferson. After a few minutes of restless pacing, he laid down and tried to sleep. He tossed and turned. He did some breathing exercises one of his therapist taught him. He let his stress untangle and let his mind quiet down. Despite being six in the evening, he fell asleep, simply just to escape his overflow of emotions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gay poetry, am i right?

Nathan was incredibly glad that his school days weren't that long. This semester he was only taking 4 classes. His first class, English, is at 9 am. Which he goes to sometimes. Even though it's at 9 am, it's sometimes too early when he stays up til 3 am. But today, he went and sat in his usual seat in the back of the class. He looked up at the board and groaned inwardly.

'Poetry' was scribbled on the chalkboard. 

As the class started to fill up, the teacher walked in and spotted Nathan.

"It's good to see you Nathan." She spoke confidently.

Nathan smiled and hummed as a response. He liked her, she was fun. She treated him differently, but not in a bad way. She didn't treat him like a criminal or anything like that. She just understood him, just enough to know how to treat him. The bell rang and everyone fell silent.

"Now class, today we'll be going over poetry. Poems have been used for centuries to describe nature, history, and love. It's used to tell stories and express emotions. There are many forms of poetry and ways of writing. And that's what we are doing today. We are going to write about someone or something you love. Can be a person or a pet or your bed. Just make a poem about it." She instructed the class, and the class let out an array of exclamations. 

Some people blushed and others laughed, Nathan was one of the ones blushing. He knew he could've just written about Victoria or his sister, but of course not. That would've been too simple. He started to write one about Warren. It was sweet and sometimes even heartfelt. Nathan didn't dare to put his name in it or anything. The teacher walked around and looked over her students shoulders, observing their work. She paused next to Nathan, and smiled. 

"It's nice." She said softly, so only Nathan could hear.

Nathan's face heated up slightly and he thanked whatever God that no one was looking at him. He looked back to his shitty poem about Warren. It was so stupid, and he huffed out a breath.

"Now class, a big part of poetry is about emotions. There is no right or wrong way. It's just how you feel." She spoke to the class. "And for the fun part!" Nathans eyes widened, "without putting your name on your poem, you're going to copy it down and put the copy in this bowl," she rested her hand on a blue glass bowl, "and I'll read them out loud and the class will try to match the poem to the person. No judgement, don't worry."

Some of the class sighed and others snickered. Nathan tensed as he wrote down his stupid gay love poem and put it in the bowl as she walked around with it resting in her hands. Nathan feels the urge to leave, to run out of that class before his is read out loud. The teacher collects all of them and rounds back to the front and leans against her desk. 

"Alright, so first of we have 'barbed wire kisses'. Sounds interesting." She read it out loud, it was about someone dating someone who always played them. The class gave that one to a girl in the front row.

The next one that interested the class was one called 'planes away', which was about long distance relationships. Nathan kinda liked that one. Another he liked was 'double trouble', about two mischievous friends. That one made him smile.

Then, 'brown eyes' was read. And Nathan kept his head down, trying to stay as neutral as possible. As the teacher started to read his writing he hid his hands in his face.

'Brown eyes.  
Looked at me like no one else.  
Cares if I look back.  
Brown hair.  
Choppy and short.  
Ruffled by wind makes my heart skip.  
Warm laughs and bright smiles.  
Makes me feel like I'm worth while.  
Too afraid to let him know.  
Too attached to let it go.  
I wish those brown eyes would look at me, like these blue eyes look at him.'

Nathan looked up from his hands, and the class was looking around from classmate to classmate. Nathan used all his willpower to not give it away that that poem was his. No one but some girl with green dyed hair looked at him right in the eyes, somehow figured it out, and smiled softly. Then she looked back to where everyone else was looking. The class eventually assigned that poem to a girl who had blue eyes. Nathan let his shoulders relax. He was assigned some poem about art. Which he found funny, even though he was a photographer, he didn't necessary love all kinds of art. He just accepted the poem. 

"Alright, now since everyone has a poem, who has the one they wrote?" The teacher asked as she leaned against her desk.

Only four people raised their hand, and their poems where really obvious. Someone wrote their boyfriends name in their poem. Another wrote about the football team, as he was wearing his letterman jacket. The teacher smiled.

"As everyone can see, it's hard to put a poem to a person because everyone is different then how we see them. While there was some successful matches, without the obvious details like names, it's hard to exactly pinpoint the author of a peace of literature. And yes, I added social commentary in my poetry lessen, you are all welcome." She bowed and and picked up her bowl again, "alright now give the poems back to me, and I'll get them back to their rightful owners." She started to walk up and down the aisles, collecting the papers again.

Nathan sat there, and tried so desperately to contain any emotion. Tried to not let his blush spread, not not let his eyes dart from person to person. He just sat there, staring at his hands. He put the art poem in the bowl and continued to look at hid hands.

"Alright, I'm going to call everyone up here to get their poem." The teacher settled down in her chair. 

She started to say out everyone's name, and one by one everyone collected their poem. Nathan slowly got out of his seat and walked up there when his name was called. He quickly took his poem back, folded the paper, and slid it into his pocket. As he slid back into his seat, the green haired girl was called and she got her poem. She looked back over to Nathan, and caught him looking. She looked away and opened her notebook and tore out a page. He watched her scribble on the paper, fold it in fourths and pass it over to someone next to her. And that person passed it to someone else and that someone else passed it to him. 

Now usually, he would tear it up and flip her off. But his curiosity kept him from doing that. He opened up the note and read it to himself.

'hey, was that love poem yours? About the brown eyes?'

Nathan's mouth went dry, he scribbled on the paper and sent it back.

'none of your business bitch'

She opened the note and chuckled to herself. Then wrote on it and sent it back.

'im going to take that as a yes. anyway, it was cute. you dont have to feel bad about liking a guy.' 

Nathan huffed and he read the recent message. He wrote back.

'ok, even if i was gay or what the fuck ever, im not ashamed alright'

She read it and smiled softly down at the paper, and replied.

'then if your not, why did you look like you were going to throw up whenever it was read out loud?'

Nathan scratched on the paper,

'i dont need all of blackwell knowing i like dudes alright?!? who even are you anyway??' 

The girl read the note then looked at Nathan. She passed the note back.

'oh yeah, im Logan :)' 

Nathan smiled at the little drawn on emoticon. He sent the note back.

'well you probably already know who i am.'

Logan wrote back in the last back an forth. 

'yeah, you're kinda famous here' 

Nathan kept the note after that, making sure no one would have physical evidence of him liking a guy. By then the class was almost over and everyone was anxious to leave. The bell rang and students rushed out. Nathan felt a hand on his shoulder as he walked out of the room into the hallway.

"Hi, it's good to meet you, heard a lot." Logan spoke as Nathan turned to look at her.

"All bad things I assume." Nathan huffed.

"Not all bad. Plus I need friends and you don't seem like an awful human being, so" Logan ran on.

Nathan looked over at Logan, thankful he was in a good mood today to put up with a new person. 

"But anyway, I'm Logan, I'm a junior, I just transferred here and I used to live in Michigan, so." She quickly introduces herself as the two weave their way through the halls.

"I'm assuming you're gay?" Nathan spoke softly.

Logan laughed, "Yeah, I'm bi. The green hair kinda gives it away." 

Nathan smiled. They walked and talked about themselves and the contents of their poems. They stopped in front of the boys dorms. Nathan feels someone watching them, but he quickly brushes that feeling off.

"Wait your poem was the one about art?" Nathan questioned.

"Yeah! I don't really know anyone here and I don't really do anything else but art, so." Logan said, shrugging.

"Why do you always say 'so' after you say anything?" Nathan asked with a slight smile.

"Do I? I don't know. I guess that's just a thing i do?" She shrugged again and smiled, "anyway, I have to go, art class in 20 minutes, so. But it was nice talking to you!" 

"It was nice talking to you too." Nathan smiled and waved at Logan as she backed away and left towards the main campus. Nathan was still smiling as he walked into the dorm. He had about a hour and a half until his next class, so he could just chill.

He was in his head, thinking about Logan. Not in a romantic way, but in a platonic way. She's one of the first people who had just noticed something about him and didn't mock him for it. She was actually interested in what he said and wasn't afraid of him. He smiled again. Then, while in his own head, he ran into someone walking the other way. He looked up quickly as the two regained their balance. 

"Oh hey Nathan, I didn't see you there, my bad, sorry." A familiar voice said.

Nathan immediately recognized him, as the one and only, Warren Graham. And his stupid heart sped up.

"No problem dude." Nathan replied, he could feel his face warming up, then he remembered the keychain.

"Oh dude, I have your keychain. It fell off yesterday during calculus." Nathan checked his pockets but it wasn't there.

"Oh really, I was actually looking for that." Warren beamed.

"It must be in my dorm, I can drop it off later." Nathan sighed.

"Nah, it's fine, I was just going to go look for it." Warren said, smiling.

"Alright, just follow me then," Nathan spoke with a smile.

The two boys made their way to Nathan's dorm, making small talk about calculus and the homework assignments. Once the got to Nathan's dorm, Nathan pulled out his key and fumbled with the lock. His ears heated up with embarrassment, he let out a soft chuckle. He realized he must have left his door unlocked as he just locked the door. He looked back at Warren, gave him a small smile, and finally unlocked his door. Him and Warren let out a couple of awkward laughs and entered his dorm.

"Oh, Nathan. I didn't expect for Mr.Graham to be with you." Mr.Jefferson stated as he stood in the center of Nathan's dorm.

"Mr.Jefferson, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked, his blood running cold. 

"I was just going to follow up on a project you were working on and was waiting for you to get back to your dorm. It was unlocked so I just let myself in. My apologies." Mr.Jefferson voice faked warmth. 

"It's alright, I was just giving Warren his keychain back." Nathan shuffled over to his desk to get the keychain. His eyes danced between Mr.Jefferson and Warren. Mr. Jefferson hummed at this information.

He walked back to Warren and gave him the keychain, and Warren smiled which made the fear Nathan felt, melt. 

"Thanks, see you around Nathan." Warren said softly and left the room. 

Nathan closed the door, and turned around to face his problem. Mr.Jefferson was standing in the exact same spot, and was smiling slightly. Mr.Jefferson walked over to Nathan's desk chair, and sat down slowly. Nathan followed him with his eyes while standing motionless against his door. 

"Sit, Nathan." Mr.Jefferson looked at Nathan then at the couch. Nathan followed his directions and sat down with a pit in his stomach.

"Why the Fuck are you in here? How long were you in here?" Nathan asked.

"Doesn't matter. So, the missing key chain was Warren's." Mr.Jefferson pushed away Nathan's question.

"Yeah." Nathan answered blandly.

"I saw you, outside the dorm, talking to a young women. Who was she?" Mr.Jefferson asked innocently.

"None of your goddamn business." Nathan spat.

"Nathan," Mr.Jefferson spoke calmly. "Who was she?" He pushed.

Nathan let out a sigh, and his stomach was in knots, but he knew Mr.Jefferson would find out eventually.

"Her name is Logan. She's in my English." Nathan mumbled looking down at the carpet.

"Interesting, see was that so hard," Mr.Jefferson hummed. "I heard that today the class was about poetry. Did you write anything interesting?" Mr.Jefferson spoke coldly. 

Nathan already knew that Mr.Jefferson knew that he did. No point in denying it. Nathan sat there thinking about whether to tell the truth or not. He tried to find a lie and excuse or something. As he spaced out, trying to get away from his reality at this point, Mr.Jefferson clicked his tongue.

"It's alright Nathan, you don't have to tell me." Mr.Jefferson said with a condescending voice.

Nathan shifted uncomfortably. Then Mr.Jefferson left. Left Nathan sitting in his own self pity and anxiety. Eventually Nathan snapped out of it and continued his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay just as i was about to post this I realized that there is a character in LiS who's name is Logan lmao oops


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been a second since i updated this. Anyway- enjoy :)

After the last day Nathan had, he could use a simple day. Chemistry was pretty much the same as it always was, until the teacher announced partner work. Which meant, Nathan and Warren had to work together. Not that Nathan was complaining, or Warren was. The two sat next to each other without talking, or trying to awkwardly acknowledge each other without eye contact, until the teacher started the class.

"Hello everyone, for the next two weeks we'll be doing a project with our lab partners." Some sighed at that announcement.

Nathan kinda stopped listening to her at that point. He'd been thinking about Warren most of the day, so that's what he continued to do until he was tapped on the shoulder. He snapped out of his daydream to meet eye to eye contact with Warren Graham. He felt his face heat up, but he quickly ignored that and broke the eye contact. He felt so stupid for letting eye contact make him flustered.

"Are you good?" Warren asked so kindly.

"Yeah, just spaced out." Nathan spat out, trying to focus on whatever they were supposed to be doing.

"So what do you think we should do for the project?" Warren asked looking a paper in his hands.

"Whatever is good for you." Nathan answered with a shrug.

"Do you even know what the project is about?" Warren asked calmly.

"About electrons or elements or some shit. I'm not stupid Graham." Nathan snapped, feeling embarrassed.

"Oh I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I meant-" Warren rushed out, his eyes widened.

"Save it. It's fine." Nathan huffed out.

"I'm still sorry." Warren mumbled and Nathan rolled his eyes.

There was moment of silence, and Warren clicked his pen up and down.

"I'm sorry for being a dick." Nathan said softly and hoped Warren heard so he wouldn't have to say it again.

"It's all good, let's start on our project." Warren responded with a soft smile that made Nathan's heart jump.

Nathan wasn't paying attention in the beginning of class, so he was lost. Warren helped him understand what they were doing and from there, it was smooth sailing. The project would last for a few days and they had to work on it out of class. Which meant, Warren and Nathan would hang out. Which made both of the boys feel some way they couldn't explain. They know where each others dorms are but they never really step foot in them. They were both nervous, for a couple of reasons. The obvious ones were the fact that Nathan had a crush on Warren and that Warren wasn't sure if he should be afraid of Nathan. Despite these things, they exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet up to work together.

"We could meet at Two Whales?" Warren suggested.

"Yeah that sounds good. Text me when and I can probably go." Nathan agreed.

"Okie dokie," Warren nodded his head.

Nathan laughed slightly.

Warren face flushed, "what?"

"'Okie Dokie'?" Nathan looked over to Warren with one eyebrow raised.

"I picked it up from Max." Warren shrugged and chuckled slightly.

They laughed quietly for a few moments more, and them went back to looking at their phones. Nathan occasionally sneaking a glance up at Warren. The bell rang and the two packed their bags. Their hands bumped when they reached for the papers containing the projects info. They awkwardly pulled their hands back and laughed.

"You take it, I'll just probably lose it." Nathan said, letting Warren take the papers.

"Alright. See ya Nathan." Warren put the papers in a binder then walked past Nathan and waved.

Nathan waved back and returned a goodbye. Victoria was waiting for him outside of the classroom so they could eat lunch together, as always. When they sat down at a table, she told him some news.

"The party is officially set. It's Saturday night and it's in the woods." Victoria grinned.

"Don't you think your cutting it a little short?" Nathan questioned

"I think a few days is enough time to figure out if you can go or not." Victoria said.

"What time does it start?" Nathan asked.

"Nine but you can come early if you want." Victoria informed him.

"Thanks," Nathan responded.

They sat and talked more about location and who was invited. Turns out, everyone was invited, or anyone could come. Nathan thought of inviting two people who he had recently gotten friendly with. Nathan was actually excited for this party. Usually he goes to support Victoria and for drinks or drugs or both. Now, since he would invite people he would actually want to see, he was looking forward to Saturday night. Nothing could get him out of this good mood he was in. With that thought in mind, he went to his photography class.

The class was boring as usual. He didn't really pay attention, not really caring about what ever Mr. Jefferson said. For some reason, it felt like a hundred degrees in the class room, so he took off his jacket. Nathan stared out the window, and Mr. Jefferson noticed how Nathan was day dreaming.

"And Nathan, could you try to pay attention," Mr. Jefferson spoke out and some of the class snickered.

Nathan turned his attention to the front of the class and pretended to be interested but continued to day dream about the party and Warren. His leg bounced as he was eager to leave this dumb class and go to calculus so he could see Warren to tell him about the party.

The class moved by incredibly slow. It was almost unbearable. Being hyper aware of every thing around him, Nathan could feel every second tick by. So when the bell rang, he sprung up from his desk and grabbed his bag. As he was halfway out of the door, Mr. Jefferson asked him to say behind. Which he did, sitting on a table. Mr. Jefferson looked up at Nathan tapping his foot. Nathan looked at Mr. Jefferson annoyed.

"Nathan, you've been acting strange lately." Mr. Jefferson spoke.

"As if you care." Nathan mumbled.

"As a matter of fact, I do. You're being more, well, disrespectful and careless lately. I don't have to remind you of what you've done and what I can do." Mr. Jefferson stood up from his desk.

Nathan looked furiously at Mr. Jefferson, anger bubbling up from his chest. He watched Mr. Jefferson close the door.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Nathan spat.

"What The Fuck that means, is stop being a trust fund brat." Mr. Jefferson moved closer, his voice becoming harsher.

Nathan sat up straight as Mr. Jefferson walked closer. Nathan glared at Mr. Jefferson with such an intensity, if it was anyone other than Mr. Jefferson, they'd be scared shitless. And he just laughed in Nathan's face.

"Oh Nathan, you think I'm afraid of you? A mentally unstable, lonely, vulnerable, unloved, rich kid?" Mr. Jefferson spat as he invaded Nathan's personal space.

"Fuck you. At least I'm not a fucking creep." Nathan spat with all the venom he could muster up.

"The last time I checked, you help me with my 'creepiness'. Which makes you my pet who is too weak to fight back." Mr. Jefferson hummed with a smirk and backed away from Nathan.

"Oh you want a fucking fight? I will tell the goddamn police. I'll, I'll-" Nathan let his anger overflow and spill all over his lap. He shut his mouth when he couldn't think of anything.

"No you won't." Mr. Jefferson laughed.

Nathan clenched his jaw, "why the fuck not?!"

"Because, I am curious what green hair would look like in a black and white photograph." Mr. Jefferson smiled and looked over to Nathan.

Nathan froze. "What? Are you say what I think you're fucking saying?!"

"I mean, you could prevent that." Mr. Jefferson spoke softly.

"Fuck you. And fuck your stupid photos." Nathan spat and began to make his way towards the door.

"Nathan," Mr. Jefferson barked.

Nathan turned around, and gasped at how close Mr. Jefferson was to him. Mr. Jefferson grabbed his upper arm. He pulled him close and whispered harshly into his ear.

"Don't think I fucking won't."

Mr. Jefferson shoved Nathan back, and Nathan glared back at him. He sat back down at his desk, and waved Nathan away.

"Now behave! I don't want anymore mishaps." Mr. Jefferson sung as Nathan stormed out of the room.

Nathan felt sick and couldn't believe what just happened. He stormed through the halls, but stopped to lean against the lockers. Some students stared at him.

"The fuck you looking at?" Nathan snapped and the students quickly walked off.

He hunched over and felt tears prick his eyes. He mumbled to himself and straightened up. He felt his heart racing, like he was going to have a goddamn heart attack. He looked to the ceiling and counted his breaths. He felt people weird stares, but he didn't care. He felt like melting away, to never be seen again. Fuck it, he thought. Nathan began to walk out of the campus, but he was stopped by the thought of Warren in calculus. He shook his head, and continued to walk to his dorm.

Once outside, the sky began to open up. Rain began to fall onto Nathan. He violently cursed everything loudly. How fucking cliché, he thought as the rain soaked through his clothes. He let himself be miserable while walking through the rain. No one was there to judge him. When he finally made it to the dorms, he was soaked. He used the class period he was skipping to change clothes and dry off. He was still fuming and honestly afraid because of Mr. Jefferson. He was finishing drying his hair, which puffed up due to the rain washing out his hair product. He had a headache, and he felt like shit.

There was a knock at his door, and he groaned. He pulled himself off of his couch and walked over to the door. Expecting Victoria or someone from the Vortex club, he wasn't ready to find Warren on the other side. Warren's eyes lit up when he saw Nathan, and greeted him with a smile. Nathan stopped dead in his track of thought.

"Hey Nathan, you weren't in calculus. I was just making sure you're alright." Warren spoke softly.

"Uh- Yeah. I was. I just felt sick after my photography class, so I just went. Came back here." Nathan struggled.

"Oh okay, I was just checking up on you. Because of the project. Y'know." Warren stuttered and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, we can work on it tomorrow after school if you- we need." Nathan continued to completely trip over his own thoughts.

"That would be great, fine. It would be fine." Warren said with a smile.

They both stood there awkwardly and looked each other over and lightly laughed. Warren then remembered something.

"Oh here's your jacket." Warren said handing Nathan his famous red jacket.

Nathan takes it and looks at Warren confused.

"Oh, Mr. Jefferson gave it to me. You left it in his class." Warren smiled slightly.

"Oh thanks. I'll, I'll see you tomorrow." Nathan muttered.

"Yeah. No problem. Bye." Warren waved as he backed into the hall.

Nathan smiled and shut his door. He flung his jacket onto his couch and silently cursed at himself. The one thing Nathan hates more than Mr. Jefferson is Mr. Jefferson talking to people he cares about. Just because he was stupid enough to let that fucker under his skin. He sighed and fell onto his bed. He pulled out his phone and looked over his notifications. He had a text from Victoria about the party. He dropped his phone off his bed and let out a long sigh.

He was scared, honestly. Scared of Mr. Jefferson and what he could do. His throat closed up, letting his emotions overwhelm him. He had no idea what to do. He just wanted to have one normal relationship. He just wanted to have friends and have the boy who he likes liked him back. He just wanted to be able to talk to someone without them being in danger. He let out a shaky breath and wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat. 

"This is stupid." Nathan mumbled to himself and turned over in his bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they go on a date– I mean, the meet up to study.

Nathan tapped his foot on the floor of his car as he sat outside of the Two Whales Diner. It was six minutes before the time Warren and him made early today to meet up. For the project, of course. Nathan saw Warren's unmistakable beat up car that he was a little too proud of. Nathan checked the time again, and he grabbed his things.

He made his way into the diner, and Joyce waved at him. He waved back, but was a little distracted looking for Warren. He walked over to the booth were Warren sat, already with books and papers on the table. Nathan slide into the seat across from him, and Warren's head shot up.

"Oh hey Nathan." Warren smiled.

"hey." Nathan said simply with a tight voice.

Warren eyebrows scrunched together for a split second, "You good?" 

"Yeah just, uh, still feeling a little sick." Nathan lied, but Warren didn't ask more about it.

"So the project." Warren cleared his throat.

"Yeah," Nathan said, looking down at the papers.

Neither of them really wanted to work on them, already tired from school. But despite being worn out, they worked on their project until Warren dropped his book and looked up at Nathan. Nathan shot him back a confused look, eyebrows raised.

"Are you hungry?" Warren asked.

"Yes," Nathan replied.

"Alright, I'm starving." Warren said while searching through the papers for the menu.

Nathan watched Warren look over the menu, then realized he was staring and decided to pretend to look at the menu himself. He already knew what he wanted but he didn't want to seem like he was just staring at Warren. When Joyce came over, both of the boys look up at her.

"Hey boys, what can I get you?" She asked, flipping her notebook open.

"Can I get the chocolate chip waffles and coffee please." Warren stated, looking over the menu.

"Cheese burger and a coke," Nathan said but then added, "please."

Joyce nodded and walked away from the table. The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Nathan started to tap his foot. The question that was at the forefront of his mind begged to be asked. And he decided now or never. He prepared himself and,

"Do you want to go to a party?" Nathan asked.

"Uh, yeah." Warren sounded a little confused.

"It happening Saturday night. In the woods. The theme is like 'go wild' or something" Nathan said, trying to remember what Victoria said.

"Who's going?" Warren asked, clearing the papers to make room for the incoming plates.

"Anyone who can." Nathan shrugged.

"Huh, looking forward to it." Warren smiled.

"Yeah, me too." Nathan agreed, and there was another moment of silence.

Warren shifted and sighed. Nathan was hyper aware of the awkward silence. He wished it would end, but he didn't know what to say. So he just let the silence be strung on. Warren spun a pencil in his hand as they waited. They sat in that silence until Joyce came with their food.

"Here you go, enjoy." She said as she set down the plates.

Warren thanked her and rolled up his sleeves.

"It's 5 pm, how are you eating that?" Nathan spoke, and internal cringed at himself. He didn't mean to sound like an asshole.

Warren laughed, "it's always time for waffles." 

Nathan smiled, feeling thankful that Warren didn't take any offense. Nathan found himself very aware of every word he said to Warren. And he also paid attention to every detail in Warren's voice and over analyzed every sentence.

"These are so good. Have you had this?" Warren said, pointing at the waffles. 

Nathan shook his head, and Warren looked shocked. Nathan watched as Warren cut a triangle off of the waffle and present to Nathan.

"Here, try it" Warren held out his fort with the waffle.

Nathan looked at the waffle, then at Warren with a raised brow.

"Dude don't worry, I didn't lick it or anything." Warren said, "Come on."

Nathan sighed. "Alright." And he took the fork out of Warren hands, fingers brushing against each other.

Nathan carefully plucked the waffle off the fork and gave it back to Warren. Warren watched with an excited look. 

"It is pretty good." Nathan mumbled.

"I told you!"

"I never said it would be bad."

"You did that eyebrow thing you do."

"What eyebrow thing?"

Warren then mimicked Nathan by raising his eyebrow, over exaggerating the expression. Nathan laughed.

"I do not look that that." Nathan said.

"Yes you do!" Warren teased.

Nathan huffed and took another bite of his burger. Warren froze slightly, causing Nathan to pause as well. 

"I didn't mean anything bad though." Warren clarified.

Nathan shrugged, "I didn't think it was."

Warren relaxed and went back to eating his waffles. They both ate in silence, both wanting to say something but not knowing what. Warren set down his cup, and looked up at Nathan. Nathan made eye contact with Warren, getting him a questioning look.

"Y'know, a month ago, I would've never agreed to meet you here. But now, look at us, hanging out." Warren finally said.

Nathan was taking off guard with such a forward statement. But Warren did have a point, a month ago they would've never voluntarily interacted outside of school. For some reason, this week brought them closer than the months they've known each other. The only good thing chemistry was good for in Nathan's mind.

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Nathan agreed.

"Not me." Warren added.

Nathan didn't know how to continue one this topic, so he just remained silent. Which Warren took as Nathan being offended.

"Not that I don't want to be friends, or hang out or anything. I mean, hey, we've shared food! We're practically married! I mean, wait, not like that. Don't look at me like that!" Warren said, panic increasing each word.

Nathan was glaring at him from across the table, wondering what happens in Warren's brain. They both had matching blushes. After a pause, they laughed. They just brushed the awkward moment away.

"I do like hanging out though," Warren said, smiling.

"Yeah, so do I." Nathan agreed.

"Maybe we could hang out some other time, after the project is done, if that's something you would want to do." Warren rambled.

"Uh, sure. Yeah, I'd like that." Nathan struggled to say that without cringing slightly. He didn't want to sound so uninterested. But Warren still smiled.

"So..." Warren swayed slightly in his seat. 

"So...?" Nathan repeated.

"Anything new in your life?" Warren asked, hoping the keep the conversation going.

"Nothing much. This is new, obviously. Met some girl in my english, she's new to Blackwell." Nathan shrugged and picked at his fries. Nathan saw Warren's shoulders drop slightly at the last sentence, but he didn't try to over think it.

"Anything with you?" Nathan returned the question.

"Nah, just same old same old. Except you." Warren said.

Nathan hummed and there was silence again. Why these two couldn't hold a conversation was a mystery to both of them. It was especially annoying since all these two boys wanted to do was just have a conversation with each other. They both took another bite of their food.

"Who's the new girl?" Warren asked, breaking the silence.

"Her name's Logan, she's from Michigan or something. She transferred here to do art stuff. Has green hair." Nathan said nonchalantly.

Warren sighed. Nathan focused on Warren, and Nathan sworn that he looked jealous. Just a little. But he didn't want to assume anything. He just continued with his train of thought.

"She's in my english, we met though a ridiculous poetry lesson. It was awful." Nathan continued to talk.

"Poetry? Did you write a poem?" Warren asked, tilting his head slightly.

Nathan froze, only for a second. 

"Uh, yeah, we all did." Nathan shrugged, hoping his answer would be enough information for Warren.

"What was it about?" Warren asked innocently.

Nathan felt his pulse quicken, and he quickly came up with a lie.

"Victoria." Nathan stated, and Warren nodded.

"You two are pretty close." Warren said, twirling his fork.

"Yeah, she's my best friend, I tell her everything. Well almost everything." Nathan said, voicing his inner monologue.

"Oh, you got secrets?" Warren raised his eyebrow.

"Everyone has secrets dude." Nathan muttered.

"Not me, I'm an open book." Warren beamed.

"Oh really?" Nathan questioned.

"Yes." Warren said.

"Alright, have you been arrested? have you've been high before? What'd your go to on pornhub? Who was your first crush? And who's your current crush? Tell it all Mr. Open book." Nathan challenged.

"Arrested? Dude look at me, of course I haven't. High, also no. But I'm open to the idea. My first crush was Grace Sanchez when I was 7." Warren answered, tilting his head from side to side.

"I asked two other things Graham." Nathan sung with a smirk.

"I'm, uh- not answering them." Warren mumbled.

"Why not?" Nathan teased.

"Because, th- they are secret." Warren sighed in defeat. 

"What did I tell you, everyone has secrets." Nathan muttered.

"but- okay you're right," Warren shrugged. "I guess I'm an open book once you get to know me. What about you?" 

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, tilting his head.

"Are you this secretive with your friends?" Warren asked carefully.

"Secretive?" Nathan asked without answering Warren's question.

"Well, no one really knows anything about you. Like people know who you are but nothing about you. We've known each other for months and this is kinda the first time we've had any kind of conversation outside of school. I was just wondering if you're always like that, with everyone." Warren tried to not look nervous, which didn't really work.

"God, no one's have ever asked me that." Nathan sighed.

"You don't have to answer, just my mind wondering." Warren was quick to say, stirring his coffee.

"No it's fine. Well, I guess everyone knows who I am thanks to the family name but they don't know anything else about me. And some people don't like me just for being a Prescott. I don't know if I'm making any sense, but people already think they know me so no one tries to get to know me. I don't know maybe I'm just an asshole. Who knows." Nathan rambled and thought out loud, and Warren listened.

"I kinda get it. And I don't think you're an asshole," Warren said then smiled, "not completely anyway." 

Nathan scoffed, "Ha Ha. Good one." 

"But seriously Nathan, I couldn't imagine having a reputation just based off my last name. Must be annoying." Warren continues.

"Yeah, you could say that." Nathan nodded, picking at his remaining fries.

"I mean, I'm literally a nobody but I still feel pressure from everyone all the time. Don't know how you do it." Warren chuckled slightly.

"Drugs." Nathan said, and looked up at Warren with a small smile. Warren giggled slightly.

"And you're not a nobody dude. You're important," Nathan said softly and Warren froze slightly. "to many people. Like Max and all your other nerd friends." 

"I, um. Thanks." Warren smiled and cleared his throat.

"If we're being honest, you're probably one of the only people at Blackwell who's gonna go somewhere in life. You're actually smart and stuff. And one of the nicest people I've met. Most Blackwell students are assholes, myself included." Nathan continued, and Warren remained silent.

"And that's what's kinda surprising. Us two, hanging out. You're a good person with normal friends and all that, and I'm a walking human LSD tablet with a bad reputation. Why are you being so friendly, huh?" Nathan took a drink of his now room temperature coke.

"Well, I don't judge people, or at least I try not to. I just think everyone is misunderstood." Warren said quietly, taking a bite of a waffle.

"But still, I don't know about anyone else, but I know I can be a real dick." Nathan worried his lip before continuing, "and I know I haven't been the best person, I haven't been that great to you too, but if this even matters, I'm sorry for being an asshole." 

Warren swallows and looks Nathan in the eye. He smiles slightly and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it.

"Thanks for saying that, even though you weren't really that much of asshole to me. I still appreciate it though." Warren finally said.

Nathan nodded and took another bite of his food, now looking down at the table. He tapped his foot up and down, worrying about if Warren really means it. Nathan knows he isn't a saint and that no one should even forgive him for half the things he's done, but that still doesn't stop him from trying to make it up by trying to not be an asshole. He feels like a fraud, pretending to be just some highschool asshole instead of the actual criminal he is. He feels his mind drift away from the diner and Warren, staring at the corner of the booth. His mind felt like a shaken etch-a-sketch. Or TV static.

"Dude, you're shaking the table." Warren said, lightly tapping Nathan's forearm.

"huh? Oh my bad." Nathan mumbled, snapping out of whatever trance he was in and stopped bouncing his foot. 

Warren worried his lip for a split second, and looked down before resting his hand gently on Nathan's forearm. Nathan looked at Warren, not sure on how to react. Warren took a breath and looked at Nathan. 

"Listen dude, I think that everyone makes mistakes and that everyone fucks up. And all you can do is try to be better. So I don't think you're- uh- you're evil or anything. So, uh- yeah." Warren said softly, then awkwardly removed his hand from Nathan's arm. 

"Thanks," Nathan all but whispered, but Warren heard him and smiled. There was a moment of silence, and Nathan smiled back at Warren.

"Anyway," Warren cleared his throat, "back to the project?" He suggested with a shrug. 

"Might as well," Nathan sighed, moving his mostly empty plate aside to bring out his notes.

The two of them worked on the project until they both were tired of looking at anything related to chemistry. By the time they were done for the day, the sun began to set over the bay. Warren stared out the window, watching the colors dance over the calm water. And Nathan watched Warren and the reflected light shimmer on his face. He wanted to take a picture, but he was too afraid to ask. But he just couldn't let it go. He pulled out his phone.

"Hey, wanna take a photo together? It's fine if you don't." Nathan asked.

Warren looked over at Nathan, and smiled. 

"Yeah, sure." 

Nathan nodded and raised his phone camera up. They both smiled, the sun shining behind Warren's head. The soft yellow light shimmering against their hair. And as soon as it started, it was over. Nathan was the first one to settle back into his seat.

"Thanks." He said.

As they left and walked out to their cars, Warren broke the comfortable silence.

"This was nice." He said looking down at his feet.

"Yeah it was." Nathan nodded his head.

Warren opened his mouth to say more, but he closed it and looked over at the bay.

"Well, see you tomorrow then." Warren smiles and starts to shuffle towards his car.

"Yeah, see ya later." Nathan returned a small smile and also made his way towards his car.

Once he was in the privacy of his car, he ran his hands up and down his face. Then smiled like a smitten idiot. And he continued to smile all the way back to his dorm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spoiler: some gay shit happens

In English the next day, Logan sat next to Nathan. She kept wanting to know who 'brown eyes' was. Said the curiosity was killing her. Nathan just awkwardly smiled and shook his head.

"So, the Vortex Club is throwing a party in the woods. 9 pm on Saturday. You in?" Nathan said looking towards Logan.

"I have so many questions. What is a Vortex Club? Why in the woods? Who's going to be there? Brown eyes?" She wiggled her eyebrow.

"It's a club here on campus practically made for parties and why would I know why it's in the woods. I didn't plan it. Everyone is going. And I invited him." Nathan said, voice tapering at the end.

Logan stuck both of her thumbs up, and Nathan smiled sarcastically back at her and rolled his eyes. She eagerly looked at him.

"I asked him yesterday when we were at the Two Whales Diner," Nathan said, indifferent.

"On a date?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, no. We work on our chem project. That's it." Nathan flushed.

"I know, I'm just teasing you." Logan said with a grin, "and also, you waited until Friday to ask me about a party tomorrow."

Nathan shrugged, "I didn't have your number, and you're the one who's been busy with your art stuff." Nathan said.

"Well then, here's my number." Logan chuckled, and wrote down her number on a sticky note, and handed it to Nathan. Nathan plucked it out of her hand.

The two of them turned their attention to the class. It was just more poetry, famous poets, and famous poems. Neither of them paid much attention. Neither of them really interested.

"So, how was your date?" Logan asked nonchalantly.

"I don't know why I allow you to do this to me," Nathan muttered. "I don't even know you that well. We literally met only a few days ago."

"I'm just as surprised as you are bro. We just clicked I think, so," Logan shrugged.

Nathan hummed, then jumped slightly when Logan gasped.

"I got it! I'm destined to be your gay best friend." Logan sang.

Nathan laughed softly, and Logan gave him a wide smile.

"But seriously, what did you two get up to?" Logan asked again.

"We studied for a little, then we got food and just talked." Nathan described.

Logan leaned closer, "talked about what?" She sang.

"The party, our project, school, y'know basic shit," Nathan muttered, hoping she would be satisfied.

"And?" Logan raised one of her eyebrows, expecting more.

"He said something about how he would've never expected us to be 'friends' and he said stuff about how he doesn't think I'm evil, so that was nice. You actually came up as well." Nathan answered her.

"Ew. About talking about me, not you guys talking. And good for you two. And is he coming to the party?" Logan asked.

"I don't know, guess I'll just have to find out." Nathan shrugged.

"Well, I'll be there at least." Logan smiled and paused, "so if he's there, what will you do?" She asked.

"Bro I have no fucking idea." Nathan sighed.

"I think you should make a move on him, the worst thing he could say is 'no', so," Logan suggested.

"No, the worst thing that he could say is that I'm a fucking freak," Nathan said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, that would be bad. But I doubt he would say that." Logan tried to reassure him.

"You don't even know him," Nathan said.

"Okay, you're right. I don't know him. But that's your fault because you haven't told me anything about him." Logan responded, and then waited for Nathan to talk.

"Well, he's an awkward dork and pretty nonthreatening." Nathan starts with a harsh tone, "he's also really nice and smart. And I'm pretty sure he has a sweet tooth due to the waffles he decided to get for dinner. He does this thing whenever he's focused where he makes little clicking noises with his tongue. God, and his smile is contagious and his laugh is just ..." Nathan quietly rambled until he noticed Logan gazing over at him with heart eyes.

"What?" Nathan asked, suddenly self conscious.

"Nothing it just kinda cute to see you gush over this guy. It's sweet." Logan smiled.

"Whatthefuckever," Nathan mumbled.

"Come on, who is he? Give me a name." She whined.

"No way! Fuck that!" Nathan hissed.

"Dude I don't know anyone here, who am I going to tell?" Logan defends herself.

"But I—" Nathan starts but was interrupted by Logan again.

"It can only be a first name. Please." She said with a smile.

"Fine, but don't tell anyone." Nathan gave in. Logan nodded as a promise.

"His name is Warren," Nathan whispered.

"Last name?" 

"No fucking way." Nathan hissed.

Logan smiled and raised her hands in defense. 

"It's alright bro. I'm happy for you." She whispered.

Nathan looked back up at her, with an anxious look in his eye. And Logan just smiled. She looked down at her hands for a split second. Nathan could feel his face heating up and he looked down at his hands. He felt a weight against his chest, waiting for her to shout out about how Nathan Prescott has a crush on a guy, but she never did. Nathan stared at her, waiting for any response.

"I mean, I wish I knew him so I could know if he is, well you know, so," Logan mumbled.

Nathan stared at her, unmoving.

"Don't look so worried, I'm not going to say anything to anyone. I swear. Who would I tell." Logan finally started, and Nathan let his shoulders relax.

"So now that I have a name, what did you guys do? I want details." Logan said as she leaned back in her chair.

"We just had dinner. Jesus, nothing crazy happened." Nathan mumbled.

Logan just chuckled and continued to look at Nathan, expecting him to say something. Nathan looked back at Logan and sighed.

"Fine. What do you want to know? Ask away."

"Okay okay. Fine. Uhhh. Everything." Logan smiled and held her head in her hands.

"There is no fucking way I'm going to give you a play by play of yesterday afternoon," Nathan mumbled.

"Fine. Then tell me about yourself. As you said, we don't really know each other." Logan asked.

Nathan rolled his eyes slightly. "Hi, I'm Nathan. I'm a Virgo, I'm a proud member of the Vortex Club and I love to smoke the marijuana." 

"At least you have a sense of humor." Logan huffed.

"What about you? What's your story?" Nathan asked, with a mocking tone.

"About me? Let's see. I'm Logan. I also partake and enjoy the devil's lettuce. I am gay and I'm new in town." Logan matched Nathan's tone.

They both chuckled.

"Nice John Mulaney quote." 

"And you watch John Mulaney! There is no way Warren doesn't already have a gigantic crush on you." Logan smirked.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Nathan mumbled.

"Come on, you're such a catch." 

"Yeah, sure, name three things that are so great about me? Besides the fact that I'm stunningly attractive." Nathan said with a smirk.

"Hmmm. You're funny for one."

"Okay, and?"

"You're rich. That counts for something." Logan joked, glaring at Nathan.

"Of course, unlimited access to my dad's wallet is super sexy." 

"You notice the smallest details about someone," Logan said, "That's something right?"

"How is that even relevant to this conversation?"

"It makes people feel important. It's nice. I doubt he hasn't noticed that." She shrugged.

Nathan stared at her and Logan checked her watch.

"Class is almost over." She mumbled.

"Finally." Nathan slumped back in his seat.

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes until the bell rang, and everyone began to stand up.

"Walk me to class?" Logan asked, hoisting her bag onto her back.

"Why not, I'm free for an hour." Nathan shrugged and followed her out of the class.

"I don't know if I'm more excited to go to the party or meet Warren," Logan said, weaving between students in the hallway.

"Who says you're going to meet him?" Nathan asked eyebrow raised.

"I do because I'm going to have to meet him eventually since you two are going to be the new power couple of Blackwell," Logan smirked.

"Okay, so you're definitely not meeting him," Nathan mumbled.

"Oh come on! If I knew him I could find out if he likes you back." Logan whispered.

Nathan just glared at her and continued to walk beside her to her class.

"Fine, we can change the subject," Logan said, looking forwards.

Nathan nodded, "so anything crazy happening in art?"

"Not much. Just projects. My teacher wants us to use a live model. Like what the fuck. Who am I supposed to get to model?" Logan complained, running a hand through her green hair.

"I can do it if you need." Nathan shrugged.

Logan looked over at Nathan with a surprised look. "You don't have to."

"Sure, why the fuck not." Nathan nodded.

"Fantastic! Imagine the look on all my classmate's faces when they see that Nathan Prescott is my model." Logan smiled.

"Don't get too excited or I'll think you're just using me for my godly good looks?" Nathan laughed.

"You wish. It's just. I've had extreme luck here so far. My first friend is the 'king of Blackwell' and he's not a complete asshole. My dorm is great and this town is super cozy. And I'm going to my first party tomorrow! It just can't get any better!" Logan declared.

Nathan's smile flattered slightly. His mind just had to bring him back to Mr. Jefferson's threats against her. He hoped that Mr. Jefferson would choose anyone but her, and he knew that it was wrong to wish that for anyone. Before Logan got the chance to notice his dip in his mood, he forced himself to forget about it. Even if it was just for now.

"So," Nathan cleared his throat, "when should I model for you"

"It would be awesome if you could let me just do a rough sketch today, then we could meet up later so I could paint," Logan said.

"Alright, I can do that." Nathan nodded.

Logan gave a thumbs up and smiled. They were one of the first ones in the art studio, and Logan tossed her bag on one of the tables. Nathan cautiously sat down on one of the stools and waited for Logan to come back.

"Allllllright. Strike a pose." Logan said, dropping down into a chair with a pad of paper and a pencil in her hands.

"You want funny?" Nathan made a face, "or sad?" Another face, "or sexy" and another face.

Logan laughed, "come on, be at least a little serious."

"Okay fine." Nathan shifted on the stool, "What do I do with my hands?"

"Uhh, whatever you feel comfortable with." Logan smiled.

Nathan nodded and folded his hands in his lap.

"Don't be so tense dude. Have you never modeled before?" Logan laughed.

"I'm a photographer! Not a model! Give me a break!" Nathan hissed and took a deep breath.

"Just relax, think about something that makes you happy," Logan smirked. "Think about Warren."

Nathan blushed slightly and let his shoulders drop. He moved his head to look out the window, watching the birds fly.

"Perfect, don't move."

And so he stayed perfectly still as he listened to the pencil on paper. It was peaceful, just sitting and watching birds outside. It's been the most peaceful moment in Nathan's life in what seemed like months. He just sat there and listened to Logan scribble. He didn't register the studio door opening, and he certainly didn't register someone else looking at him.

"That's really good." A familiar voice shocked him, making him jump slightly. Nathan turned towards the voice, and he was met with Warren's friendly gaze.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Warren smiled.

"It's okay, Warren," Nathan stated and looked at Logan. Her eyebrows shot up, and she paused her drawing.

"I'm almost done, you can leave if you need to." She said as she connected the dots.

"Wait you don't have to stop because of me. I won't bother you." Warren said, taking a step backward.

Logan and Nathan made eye contact. After unsuccessfully trying to communicate through eye movements, Logan opened her mouth.

"It'll only take a few minutes,"

Nathan huffed, "fine," and he moved his head back to look outside.

This time he could feel their eyes on him, and he could tell Logan was trying to be quick with her drawing. He tried not to blush under the intense gaze. It felt like an eternity, but he stayed still until Logan announced she was done.

Nathan let out his breath and looked back forward. He was met with Warren's eyes, and as soon as they made eye contact, they broke it. Warren cleared his throat. Logan set down her pencil and looked from Warren to Nathan. They were both looking down at the floor, a slight blush on their faces. She rolled her eyes.

"Here it is, it's just a quick sketch," Logan said, turning the drawing towards Nathan.

He looked and saw himself in pencil, and he would be impressed if he wasn't flustered at the moment. He noticed Logan was mouthing something.

'is that the Warren?'

Nathan nodded, and she looked at Warren. She turned the drawing back around.

"It's good Logan," Nathan said tone flat.

"Oh! You're Logan. I've heard about you." Warren rambled, "only good things. Nathan told me when we had dinner the other day. For studying. We had to work on a project. It wasn't a date or anything like that. Just school stuff."

Now Warren was the one with a flushed face, and he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. The three of them sat in silence, and Logan shut her notepad.

"I've heard about you too. From Nathan. You seem like a cool guy." Logan said, looking at Warren from where she sat.

Warren relaxed his shoulders and let out a breathy laugh. Then he looked back at Nathan. And Nathan was already looking at him. They locked eyes again but didn't look away. Logan looked between them again.

"So Warren, what are you doing for your project?" Logan asked loudly, snapping them both out of their trance.

"Oh, uh. I was thinking of asking Max to model, or um, or you, Nathan." Warren flushed again and looked towards the ground.

"What? Me?" Nathan choked out.

"Yeah, but you don't have to." Warren smiled politely.

"I want to– I mean, I can if you want," Nathan stated.

Logan rolled her eyes again, and she leaned back in her seat.

"You're good to go Nathan. Thanks for modeling for me."

Nathan nodded and stood up from the stool. He put his hands in his pockets. He broke eye contact with Warren.

"So when should I model for you?" He asked.

"Uh, whenever is good for you. I would say now but I don't have my supplies." Warren mumbled.

Nathan nodded, and he looked at Logan. She gave him a thumbs up, and he looked back at Warren. He smiled slightly.

"So I'll see you guys tomorrow," Nathan stated and started to move towards the door.

"Yeah"

"See you then"

And Nathan slipped into the hallway. He was extremely glad that the halls were empty, as he began to blush like an idiot. And he couldn't stop it, no matter how hard he tried. Then his phone buzzed in his pocket.

'that was embarrassing. And cute.'

Nathan rolled his eyes at Logan's text.

'shut the fuck up.'

Nathan texted back, blush still on his face.

'you have to tell him, he is 100000% into you.'

She texted back, and he slid his phone back into his pocket. Now that's something he would have to think about.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> warren centric chapter

Orange beams of sunlight flood into Chloe's room. The three friends are lounging around, laughing at some bad joke Warren made. Warren opened his mouth to say something but closed it. Chloe noticed this and quickly looked over at Max. She nodded, acknowledging that she saw that too. Warren continued to talk about his exhausting week, 

"Anything weird?" Chloe asked, wanting to dig and figure out what was on his mind.

Warren reeled back slightly, "Not really, pretty normal." 

Chloe hummed.

"Anything new?" Max asked.

Warren blushed slightly and let out a chuckle but shook his head. He scratched the back of his neck and sunk deeper into the bean bag chair. He looked at the two girls, who both had a curious look in their eyes. He began to say something but closed his mouth once again.

"Okay, you're either running out of air or you want our advice for something. Spill." Chloe stated, leaning against her graffiti covered wall.

"What?" Warren said, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You keep gaping your mouth and you look like a fish, it's actually kind of fun-" Chloe started but was shut down with a look from Max.

"If you need to ask us something, just ask," Max stated.

"Is it really that obvious?" Warren asked.

"Yeah, we can read you like a book," Chloe said, and Max apologetically nodded her head in agreement.

"You can ask us Warren. Whatever it is." Max said softly.

Warren exhaled through his nose and tried to phase his words right.

"What- no. How can- uh. Okay, I'll just explain. I like someone, but I think they like someone else. But I'm not sure? Help me?" Warren rambled.

"Well, first of all, Max is all mine," Chloe wrapped her arm around Max's shoulders, "and second of all, who is this mystery person?"

"You don't have to tell us." Max clarified.

"But it would be fun to know." Chloe smiled mischievously. Max softly elbowed her.

"Just someone in my chemistry," Warren said.

"So you could say, you guys have chemistry together?!" Chloe joked, waiting for Max and Warren's response. When she just got semi- annoyed stares, she let out a sigh.

"Come on that was funny." Chloe said, "Okay my bad, continue dude."

"Seriously how do I tell if they like someone else? How do I know they would be even interested?" Warren asked again.

"Well, do they talk about that someone else a lot?" Max asked.

"Well not really," Warren said.

"Do they swoon whenever this someone else is mentioned?" Chloe asked.

Warren chuckled at that mental image, "No."

"Well, then I think you have a chance." Chloe smiled, "but seriously give us something, who is this person."

"Well, uh, He is in my chemistry, and-" Warren started, but was interrupted by Chloe cheering.

"I knew it! Using 'they' is a dead give away!" Chloe cheered.

"You guys know I'm bi, I don't know why this is such a surprise!" Warren whined slightly.

"Anyway, Warren. Continue." Max said, reeling in Chloe.

"Well, he's in my chemistry and I transferred into his calculus. We actually hung out at the Two Whales yesterday for a project." Warren said.

"So a date?" Chloe asked.

"It wasn't a date! It was for a project." Warren said, looking over to Max for help.

"Well did you guys get food?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, but I don't see how that-" Warren was interrupted again.

"Did you guys pay separately?" Chloe asked.

"No..." Warren said.

"Interesting. He paid? I'm assuming he did because you're hella broke." Chloe said, gesturing towards Warren.

"Yeah, he did. But I don't see what that has to do with anything." Warren said, confused about where Chloe was going with that.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Did you try to pay for yours and he just got the whole thing?"

"Yeah. And?" Warren shrugged.

"And what did you guys talk about?" Chloe prodded.

"School, friends, and - well, our friendship. We kinda had a deep conversation about stuff. But nothing romantic or anything." Warren stared innocently at his friends.

"Yeah, whether you two idiots know it or not, that was a date." Chloe beamed.

"Okay, sure whatever." Warren slumped back into the bean bag chair he was sinking into.

"Anything else?" Max asked with a curious tone.

"He invited me to a party." Warren shrugged.

"Oh my God!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Chloe," Max glared at Chloe and Chloe just returned it with a smirk.

"And he said he would like to hang out more when I asked him," Warren said, fiddling with his hands.

Chloe grumbled and Max just ignored her.

"Do you think that he could like you back?" Max asked Warren.

"I don't know? How can you even tell if someone does?" Warren sighed.

"Is there intense eye contact? Are his pupils blown? Is there an overwhelming amount of sexual tension?" Chloe sang dramatically.

The three of them laughed at that. When the laughing died down, Max spoke.

"Well, I think that you should go for it? What's the worst that can happen?" Max offered kindly.

"He could get his ass beat into the ground," Chloe answered.

"Ignore her Warren." Max sang.

"But how do I know for sure?" Warren asked.

"You don't, sometimes you just got to go for it. And hope for the best." Chloe stated and looked over at Max with a smile.

Warren made fake gagging sounds and Chloe flipped him off. Max giggled but returned Chloe's look.

"But how and when? This is so scary." Warren whined.

"How about the party?" Max beamed.

"Yeah that's perfect, and if he rejects you, you can always say you were drunk. Or you just flirt with him so much he can't ignore the fact that you're into him." Chloe added and Max nodded in agreement.

Warren thought for a minute. Could he really pull it off? Would it even be possible? Warren looked at the two girls who were waiting for his response.

"It's still scary." Warren frowned.

"do you need us to chaperone?" Chloe asked with a smirk.

"No no, it's fine. I'll just have to not explode and I'll be fine." Warren leaned back into his bean bag and groaned.

"Why is this so difficult!" He whined.

"Not our fault you like men." Chloe said flatly, "Guys are so stupid."

"I know." Warren sighed. "What do I do if he rejects me?"

"Run." Chloe states and Max softly elbowed her again.

"You, well, you leave the party in a quick manner. Or not." Max said with a smile.

"So my option is to run? What if he likes me back? What do I do then?" Warren sat back up in the bean bag chair.

Chloe wiggled her eyebrow, "uh, anything you two crazy kids want to?"

Warren and Max laughed at that, but as soon as the soft laughter faded out, there was a comfortable silence. Warren was weighing the choices he had in his head. Do nothing, and nothing changes. Do something and everything could dramatically change. Talk about the butterfly effect, Warren thinks.

"But seriously dude, who is this guy?" Chloe asked again, breaking the silence.

"He's ..." Warren thought about letting the cat out of the bag and just get it over with. He decides against it.

"He's amazing." Warren finally states.

Chloe deflated slightly, but Warren continued.

"He's just different from what people think about him. He's funny and mostly self aware. He's not the asshole everyone thinks he is. Well— he may be kind of an asshole. But he tries to be nice which is enough for me. He's a really good listener. God, I really want to get to know him better." Warren said as he stared up at the ceiling.

"I bet you want to know him reeeallly well." Chloe said, exaggerating the word 'really' with a smirk.

The three of them softly laughed before returning to the comfortable silence. Warren bounced his foot.

"He also said he would model for my art project." Warren rushed out.

"I swear to god Max, it is so obvious it hurts babe," Chloe whined.

"But he was modeling for someone else before I asked! So it doesn't mean anything!" Warren retorts.

"But still! Warren! He wants to model for you! That means something!" Chloe stated.

Warren grumbled and slumped back in the bean bag chair.

"Wait. Who was he modeling for?" Max asked, head turning to the side.

"The girl I think he likes!" Warren shouts, then covers his face with his hands.

"I just really like this guy, it would really suck if he was straight."

"Yeah, ew. Imagine being straight." Chloe laughs, "Well what does she look like?"

"She has green hair," Warren said.

"And you think she's straight? Come on Graham I thought we taught you better than that." Chloe monotoned.

"Yeah yeah I know. I know." Warren shook his head.

"Is he cute?" Max asked, surprising both Chloe and Warren.

Chloe looked over at Max with a raised eyebrow, and Max smirked at her. Chloe smirked back and turned to Warren. Warren watched this exchange with mild horror.

"Well... is he?" Chloe asked as well. 

Warren flushed under their combined gaze, "Well, I- I think so! I mean he definitely is, no doubt about that. Well, physically um, speaking, he is conventionally attractive. While I look at someone's personality before looks. Not saying that I didn't find him attractive when I first saw him, because I fucking did! I found him so hot."

Chloe's smirk grew more mischievous the more Warren rambled.

"But his, like, his energy made him even more attractive. The 'fuck you, I'm super angsty, but I have a soft side' vibes are just- awooga. And now I've had multiple full length conversations with him and now I have just gotten more and more into him. Like, fuck." Warren finishes with a huff.

"You good there, bro? Do you need something to get you to relax?" Chloe asked suggestively.

"Chloe we are not getting Warren stoned so you can interrogate him," Max said, trying to be responsible.

"Unless he wants to," Chloe retorted, then looked at Warren. "Wanna smoke?"

"Warren you don't have to," Max said, also looking at Warren.

"But it would be fun," Chloe sang.

He looked at the two of them and decided, "Oh, what the hell. Why not."

Chloe smiled and cheered, and Max lightly pushed her. But she wore a small smile on her face still. A few moments passed and the room had a light haze floating around. Chloe and Warren giggled, and Max decided to join in. After a few calm seconds of silence, Warren blurted out his insecurities. 

"What if he doesn't like me back? I would understand. He's probably not even into dudes. Or just not into me." Warren said sadly.

"Come on Warren, why wouldn't he like you?" Max asked softly.

"You want a list?" 

"Warren, no, don't get sad stoned." Chloe sang.

"I don't know if I can do it. I don't think I can tell him." Warren whined.

"Warren you can do it. And you can just run away or something if you think it's going south." Chloe said, now laying down on her back.

"Warren you are one of the best boys I have met. And I bet you're one of the bestest boys he has ever met too." Max said with a determined look in her eyes.

"Honestly dude, despite all the times I've insulted you, I actually think that you're kinda great. I know you're a good friend, so it only makes sense you would be a good boyfriend. That makes sense, right?" Chloe mindlessly muttered, waving her hand in the arm.

"And not to mention, you are also cute," Max stated, and Chloe pushed her lightly with her hand.

Warren practically squirmed under the praise and compliments he was getting. He was never someone who could take a compliment. And being under the influence wasn't helping at all. He tried to stop them.

"Okay guys, I get it. You can stop." Warren sighed.

"No! I don't think you get it. He would be an idiot if he rejects you. And if he does, he doesn't deserve the amazing person you truly are." Max declared, grabbing Warren's shoulders and shaking him.

Warren felt his throat constrict, and a small whimper left his mouth. Max looked at him surprised. He leaned his head back, hoping gravity would stop his tears from leaking out. 

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good." Warren whined, "It's just I've created this whole daydream about him in my mind and I want it to come true so bad and you guys are being so nice and I can't handle all of this at once."

The next thing he knew he was being hugged by Max, and then by Chloe when Max told her to get over there. Warren sniffed and attempted to compose himself. He was internally grateful for Max and Chloe and the aura of no judgment in the room. He was extremely happy that he could be this open to people he considered his closest friends. He wiped his face and the two girls pulled back.

"Thanks, guys," Warren muttered.

"No problemo." Max sang.

"You better be making out with him by next week or I'm to find out who he is and tell him myself," Chloe grumbled and Max giggled.

"That is noted." Warren cracked a smile and nodded.

"But seriously, who is he?" Max whispered.

Chloe giggled and they both looked at Warren, expecting an answer.

"I tell you after the party." Warren sang.

Chloe grumbled, "that's so far away."

"Chloe, the party is tomorrow," Max said.

"I know! But I wanna know." Chloe muttered.

"I promise, you'll be the first person I tell," Warren hummed, leaning back in the bean bag chair on the floor to watch the sunbeams dance across Chloe's ceiling.

**Author's Note:**

> first grahamscott fic :)
> 
> feel free to leave feedback


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